NOTES FOR IN-CLASS DISCUSSION TOPICS

by

BARNABS EGRI-NYRI

BS/PT 540 Mission in the New Testament

Prof. Roger Kemp

TCMI Institute
Heiligenkreuz, Austria
2017
Topic #1: The plan of God
How can we know the plan of God? I think there are a number of ways and not all of them work
equally well in every single situation for every single believer.
The Word of God I believe it to be the key component in understanding the Lords plan. That is
the only source that we have and can count on as authoritative, reliable and true. Knowing more and
more of it will help us by forming our minds and hearts (which collectively make up the part of our
being where we make decisions) so that we may realize Gods design and desire in many diverse
situations.
Prayer this is the way through which we can most commonly pour out our thoughts and feelings
to God (not that He doesnt know all that without it, but still). Coming to Him in a trusting and open
way will make us realize things that otherwise would elude us but is also an ideal time for the Holy
Spirit to shed light on something we had read or to bring a new understanding into our minds that
we sought but were unable to capture before.
Brotherly counsel something that should play a much more prominent role than it does in many
churches today. Individualistic cultural influences have a detrimental effect on this area; much more
so than the previous two. However, the insight and loving advice from a fellow Christian cant be
overlooked: others may see our situation from a different perspective or have prior Scriptural or life
experience in the matter. Why would we forsake all of that?
Other ways of the Holy Spirit it is important not to try to limit the Spirit or try to cage Him. The
triune God may choose from a wide range of other methods that He can use to help us understand
His plan and will for our lives (dreams, circumstances, miraculous events around us, etc.).
I think that one of the most important aspect of knowing and understanding Gods plan is simply a
readiness and openness toward Him and for something new. If a Christian is willing to accept Gods
leading and this desire is manifest in his/her life than God will find a way to communicate it.
Another aspect of this matter is something that might be called over-spiritualization. Some
Christians tend to want to receive direct leading and detailed plans from God for almost all
decisions in life. I think that is not how we should live our lives God gave us many faculties that
we can hone through sanctification that will help us in good decision-making and finding a general
direction in our daily lives. Of course we still need to allow for His intervention and thus keep an
open spirit, but we dont need to know directly from Scripture or from Heaven how we should
butter our bread or to buy sneakers or boots these things God has given to us to consider wisely
and act in them according to His character.

Topic #2: Ekklesia The Church

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In Hungary the role of the Church is rather complex thus the attitudes of people toward it is also
mixed.
Historically and traditionally we consider ourselves a very Christian nation (The Virgin Marys
nation even) and most people would acknowledge some kind of church connection in their lives
(infant baptism, church marriage, church burial, godfather-hood, etc.). So culturally there are many
connections and roots that are real and alive today.
At the same time, actual church attendance is not very high (most historical denominations struggle
with dwindling numbers, and are more and more often forced to close churches or contract parishes)
and the number of people who are actively involved in church life is a fraction of those that link
themselves with a denomination.
We also need to distinguish between some of the terms that for the Hungarian language are
different. The word church can be translated in at least three distinct ways: egyhz which means
the church as the corporate entity (and in the Hungarian language it can be confused with
denomination); gylekezet which means a local body or congregation of believers; and
templom which means the building, the temple.
The church as a corporate, possibly world-encompassing entity has very little meaning for most
Hungarian people. If they do think about it at all, than it is usually in terms of denominations
particularly Catholicism, Lutheranism, and the like. Most of these would not be viewed in an overly
positive light as greed and deviant behavior of high-ranking members of church hierarchy comes to
light very often. So in my experience we could safely say that a growing proportion of Hungarians
are becoming anti-organized-religionists.
The local churches are usually a different matter. Most of them try to take some kind of role in the
civic life of the town where they are located and they also often serve as community centers or
places and organizations of civil life. A lot depends on the pastor of the local church, because
his/her (two of the largest historical denominations in Hungary appoint female pastors along with
men) attitude will greatly influence how the church is viewed. In this regard I actually think that the
traditional denominations are doing a better job than most of the evangelical churches. At the same
time these churches commonly lose their identity as a community of Christ-followers in favor of
this civic side of the coin.

Topic #3: The role of women in ministry

As mentioned above, some of the well-established denominations in Hungary ordain female pastors
along with men. In my experience however this practice is treated with a lot of skepticism from all
directions. The stand the Catholics would take on this issue is quite clear (as they would not even
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consider male pastors true priests in any of the protestant movements much more so with
women). From the evangelical side this practice is also viewed with palpable reserve. In my own
denomination (Baptist) there is no practice of ordaining women and for most people this would feel
strange if not downright heretical. I know of no official dialogue on this issue or of any plans to
bring about change. In my 30+ years of experience in various Baptist churches in the country I
would venture a prediction that any such endeavor would face very serious opposition and not
only from men but also from women. (I am currently in the process of digesting this issue for
myself. Up to this point in my life I havent taken a closer look at this subject, I just accepted the
teaching that I grew up with. But what is the true Biblical point of view?)
This does not mean however that women have no role in ministry in those churches or
denominations where they are not ordained. In most Baptist churches there are roles within the
church that have traditionally been fulfilled by women: Sunday-school teachers, choir-leaders,
prayer-group leaders and some others depending on the actual church itself. In some rural (usually
very small, stagnating or declining) churches it is not unheard of to have women serve in more
serious leadership roles, but that is due to the simple lack of men in most such cases.
One area where women should have a large role is ministry toward other women. For many women
it is uncomfortable or unthinkable to open up about spiritual and emotional issues to a man; but
usually not very difficult for them to do the same with another woman. This is most specifically the
case with women who come from abusive relationships, families or human trafficking.
In general it could be said that women tend to have a more empathetic nature and can understand
the person they are talking with on more than the rational level. This can be a great advantage and
tool but also presents dangers (too close identification can be detrimental for example). As a result,
women are well suited to carry out tasks within ministry that requires such an approach. I believe
this is one of the reasons why deaconess positions have been held by many women over the
centuries in most protestant churches even Baptist ones. Prayer is another area of church and
Christian life where women excel more often than men. Most churches prayer ministries would
suffer greatly or cease to exist altogether without the involvement of women.
An often overlooked role of women in ministry especially in todays culture is what they can do
as wives and mothers. The integrity of family life and especially Christian family life has a lot to do
with the wife and mother in that family. It is becoming a rare testimony how a woman can live a
fulfilled and content life in those roles without an overwhelming inside or outside pressure to
pursue other things (callings, carriers, goals, etc.). Coincidentally, this is exactly what we find most
often in Scripture written about women although some say that this is purely social and historical
emphasis.
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Topic #4: Converts and culture

Coming to the Lord and becoming a Christ-follower will inevitably mean a certain level of
departure from ones previous culture.
It is important to distinguish between each individual case, as the background and social-cultural
life of every person is different. When someone growing up in a generally God-fearing family
becomes a new believer he/she will face different issues in this arena than somebody coming out of
a drug-addiction or from a Muslim background or from other situations.
Justification and saving faith dont have much to do with ones behavior or attitudes, but
sanctification is nothing but a constant change in those areas. There are some very clear teachings in
the Bible about those that any want-to-be-believer must leave behind: 1Cor 6:9-10; Eph 5:1-5. We
also have more general teachings available to us e.g.: 2Cor 7:1; 1Thess 4:7 and other places.
Depending on the life one lived before becoming a Christian some of the specifics in those
Scriptures may be part of how they used to conduct themselves: clearly that needs to be left behind.
There are usually hotter debates surrounding some of those elements of culture and life that are not
directly mentioned in the Bible or that fall under the category of interpretation. These usually
include such lifestyle choices as alcohol consumption, dancing, partying, political involvement, etc.
The sensibilities of churches vary widely on these and similar issues so a two new believers may
face very different expectations in the exact same areas simply because they are attending different
churches.
I am of the opinion that part of a Christians testimony is being separate in walk and conduct (1Pt
2:12; Tit 2:9-10; Jn 17:15-18 among other places) and that should mean a sacrifice in the area of
giving up some of our culture. The trick is finding a balance: not being separate in the sense that
monks or recluse sects are, but being separate enough to be clearly identifiable as Christs children.
New believers are likely to fall into one of two possible follies: they either want to abandon too
much too quickly or they arent willing to do almost any abandoning at all. I think part of the role of
discipleship after conversion is to help the new convert identify those areas in his/her life that
he/she can start working on immediately also including some of the things that need to be
abandoned. This means that a small group under the leadership of a pastor or elder works together
(in some cases it might be a one-on-one thing) to learn Biblical truth helpful in this issue as well as
other life questions.
Something, that Christians usually dont talk too much about is what they can learn from new
converts. It can be the case that a new believer will have something as a part of his/her heritage that
the church has lost or needs a refresher course in. Commonly this has to do with the ability to
connect to non-believers in a direct, but non-confrontational and friendly manner in other words
to bridge the gap for the sake of the gospel.